Life and scribbles on the far side of SIXTY-FIVE

Flight to Wuhan

We had a leisurely breakfast with nothing on the schedule for the morning. Although a five-star, our hotel was situated too far from the Bund and the waterfront attractions for wandering around on our own.

Sue walked around the neighborhood and bought a pair of shoes. RJ and his wife went out and explored as well. Lots of real life to discover behind the scenes after all. I stayed behind, caught up on e-mail and repacked my suitcase, which had become heavier.

The poor live on one side of the street and the better off on the other:

As we traveled by bus to our lunch destination, I caught sight of a duo hanging off a skyscraper washing windows. You read that correctly: no scaffolding only a rope to secure them from falling as they swung in the wind. What kind of Health and Safety rules are there for workers I wondered?

Quick Facts:

Population in China: 1.3 billion

Beijing(capital city): 20 million

Shanghai: 23 million

We arrived too early for lunch at a moored ship—Sea Palace Floating Restaurant—and were the only patrons. The waitress might have put on a less stern face. She led us to a table where we waited longer than usual for our meal. The early bird doesn’t catch the worm it seems. Once seated, though, the food arrived within minutes. I looked around, we chatted and took advantage of the Happy House.

When food is left over, we wondered more than once what’s done with the remains. Was it thrown out like in North America? I’d always been under the impression that the Chinese wasted nothing.

After lunch, we drove to Shanghai Pudong International Airport to catch China Southern, a domestic flight at 3:55. According to our trip schedule, this was supposed to have been a morning flight. Check-in was smooth this time. None in our group was pulled over for additional security check(s).

WiFi and a charging station stared at me at our boarding area. I tried to log on to the internet but couldn’t switch from Chinese to English, the only language grayed out in the list. I wanted to check if my daughter had answered the morning’s e-mail. This ticked me off a bit: handy but untouchable with 55 minutes to kill before boarding for a two-hour flight.

~ * ~

Chinese saying:

Red lights are a suggestion; crosswalks are just a decoration.

Crosswalks and lights are ignored and no-one is ticketed for not stopping for pedestrians. Jaywalkers cross in the middle of traffic or at crosswalks, proceeding no matter what the suggestion or decoration. Two hundred people a day are killed in China due to traffic accidents.

A Special Treat:

RJ continues to share photos. His wife Bonnie sent me this link. Prepare to be mesmerized. Make sure you have your heart medicine handy. Grab a drink and put your feet up.

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I'm getting a little LONG in the tooth and have things to say about---ouch---AGEing. I believe it's certainly a state of mind but sometimes it's nice to hear that you're NORMAL. I enjoy reading by the truckload. I'm a grandma but I don't feel OLD although I'm not so young anymore. My plan is to stick it out as long as I can on this lovely planet and only will leave it kicking and screaming!